Analyzing Health Equity Using Household Survey Data: A Guide to Techniques and Their Implementation

Comment from the Stata technical group

The study of health equity has been increasingly popular over the past 25
years, evidenced in the threefold increase of Medline-published topics.
The authors thoroughly cover the important concepts of biostatistics, economics,
and survey statistics—three areas in which Stata excels—and how
to use Stata to implement the analysis.

Part I of the three-part text mainly covers how to measure health outcomes.
Topics include estimating standardized mortality rates (infant and child),
constructing and interpreting anthropometric indicators, measuring
self-reported adult health in relation to socioeconomic status, measuring
the standard of living, and adjusting these estimates and measures for
survey data. Part II outlines the possible analyses when presenting results
on health equity, including analysis using concentration curves,
concentration indices, and their extensions; and analysis decomposing health
inequities into their underlying inequalities. For instance, child survival
inequalities likely reflect inequalities in education, health insurance, and
health-care access, among others. Part III covers analyzing equity in
health care utilization and health care spending using the techniques
described in Part II.

Table of contents

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Foreword ix

Preface xi

1. Introduction

The rise of health equity research
The aim of the volume and the audience
Focal variables, research questions, and tools
Organization of the volume
References

Data requirements for health equity analysis
Data sources and their limitations
Examples of survey data
Sample design and the analysis of survey data
The importance of taking sample design into account: an illustration
References

Definition and properties
Estimation and inference for grouped data
Estimation and inference for microdata
Demographic standardization of the concentration index
Sensitivity of the concentration index to the living standards measure
References

9. Extensions to the Concentration Index: Inequality
Aversion and the Health Achievement Index

The extended concentration index
Achievement—trading off inequality and the mean
Computing the achievement index
References